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The Ramblin’ Wreck has a blown radiator and is being sold for scrap at Year Three under Collins.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets fell to the Boston College Eagles 41-30 in front of the home crowd at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Eagles move to 6-4 (2-4 in the ACC) while Tech falls to 3-7 (2-6 in the ACC). Unless Geoff Collins squad pulls a major upset, the Jackets will be held to only three wins for the third consecutive year.
Georgia Tech was plagued by penalties, once again. Against BC, the Jackets committed 11 penalties for 95 yards. GT did finish 6-of-11 on 3rd downs but only 1-for-3 on 4th downs while on offense. On defense, the “Money down” allowed 50% of 3rd down conversions.
The Jackets turned the ball over twice, compared to the Eagles one turnover. In the kicking game, Georgia Tech kicker Brett Cimaglia missed an extra point, but the Jackets did return a kick for a touchdown thanks to Jahmyr Gibbs and held BC’s returner to only 15.7 yards per return on the other end. The Eagles made all seven of their kicks, including two field goals.
The Tech offense surrendered three sacks, three hurries and five tackles for loss. Jackets QB Jordan Yates got the nod and finished with a mere 4.5 yards per pass attempt, one touchdown and one interception. Yates did add 49 yards and a TD on the ground.
RB Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 96 yards on 5.1 yards per carry and a score. Gibbs also led the team with five catches on the afternoon. Kyric McGowan caught a 22 yard pass and Malachi Carter hauled in a TD as the lone explosive plays for the GT pass game.
Yates also lost a fumble, a reoccurring trend for Dave Patenaude’s offense regardless of who is behind center. Moving forward, ball security has to become a priority in Atlanta.
Above– Gibbs’ vision on kick returns is second to none in the NCAA this season. Gibbs takes a 98 yarder back for a TD that’s a one hard cut and go play before he gets in open space and blows past the coverage in the 60 meter dash.
Above– The Q shows great touch here on a back shoulder fade in the red zone. This is a ball that has to be thrown where only your guy can get it. Nice TD call on 2nd and three from the 12.
Above– GT uses fly motion, after it worked so well vs. Miami I would too. They run G-T Counter off the fly fake for a great run here. BC’s defense has struggled as of late and interfering with their OODA Loop and making their eyes move around is a great idea.
Above– I’ve been consumed with teams that refuse to QB sneak with wedge blocking and teams that will do it. Tom Brady made a living on QB sneak with the Patriots. FSU used it to beat Miami on another channel. GT gets the TD but the amount of TFL’s Tech has surrendered in short yardage makes me wonder why wedging and running sneak isn’t an option. It’s really hard to stop now that the Bush Push rule has changed.
Above– It’s 4th down, you’re obviously throwing here. The GT pass pro is already weak, the RB runs an OTB out of the backfield and a corner blitz messes with the Tech pass pro. It looks like a “Switch” concept with no one pushing deep in the middle.
I have no idea where to even begin about DC Andrew Thacker’s defense. Phil Jurkovec averaged 15.5 yards per pass attempt, threw two TD’s, and didn’t turn the ball over while rushing for three more score and 71 yards on 8.9 yards per carry. GT gave Jurkovec, who was a little rusty a week ago coming off a hand injury, a Heisman Trophy like performance.
Pat Garwo III added 104 yards on 24 carries. Six of seven Eagles pass receivers on the afternoon averaged 13 or more yards per catch. The most eye popping data came from Zay Flowers who averaged 43.5 yards per catch and scored TD’s on both of his two receptions.
The BC offensive line was stellar against the weak Tech front seven. The Eagles allowed zero sacks or hurries and only three TFL’s over the course of the game. Tech’s Jalen Huff did recover a Garwo fumble.
Above– Tech brought a blitz and it got home a second too late. Jurkovec got the throw off just in time before being whacked and of course the BC receiver was wide open for an easy TD. I just don’t understand how the Tech defensive backs are this bad. It’s a new level of futility.
Above– To quote Bobby and Whitney… we’ve got somethin’ in common. The first two clips here are eerily similar with GT defenders getting burned on a deep ball.
Above– inside the 10, BC runs a QB draw with the center lead blocking on the most dangerous man. I mean it doesn’t even look like the Eagles ran stick-draw, it’s just draw. No one is in the middle of the field?
Above– Everything you need to know about GT’s defensive culture in a single GIF. End squeezes, the over hang replacing him is blocked by the wrapping TE. The QB then breaks multiple tackles and drags two defenders into the end zone.
Above– For all of the teams that mess up GT’s mesh on inside zone read with mesh charge, they’re squeezing again here vs. BC.
This is going to be a tough off-season for Coach Collins and his staff. A lot of self-scout and internal evaluation needs to be done to figure out why the same mistakes are being made for three consecutive years. Penalties, turnovers, and weak performances on 3rd down both on offense and defense. Also kicking woes and poor QB play have been the trademark of the Jackets offense the past three seasons.
GT heads to the midwest to take on the red hot Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday at 2:30 eastern on NBC. The Irish have an 89% win expectancy per ESPN. Bill Connelly’s SP+ has 9-1 Notre Dame as the 10th best team in the FBS.
ND’s offense is ranked 24th, the defense 13th and the kicking game is 54th. The Jackets are ranked 76th, sandwiched between Missouri and Wyoming. The GT offense is 60th, the defense 81st and the kicking game is 91st.
The Irish are 17 point favorites at home in South Bend, IN. Last weekend, the Irish stymied a Virginia team that played without starting QB Brennan Armstrong. After the Irish the Jackets head back to Georgia to face the Bulldogs in Clean Old-Fashioned Hate on Thanksgiving weekend.
Prediction: ND by 14.
